PADMAJA NAIDU (1900-1975)

Padmaja Naidu was the daughter of Sarojini Naidu (q.v) and joined the Indian National Congress at the age of 21. She founded the Hyderabad branch of the Congress with her mother. She was active in the swadeshi movement and the boycott of British goods in the 1930s. She was jailed for taking part in the Quit India movement in 1942. After Independence, in 1956 she became the first Governor of West Bengal. She was also associated with the Indian Red Cross. She donated the Naidu family home, ‘The Golden Threshold’, to the University of Hyderabad to set up an arts and media centre. She was also associated with the Bharat Sevak Samaj, the All India Handcrafts Board and the Nehru Memorial Fund. In 1975, the Zoological Park at Darjeeling was renamed the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park by Indira Gandhi.